Gov’t pledges EGP 275 bn for Sinai development over four years: Yesterday also saw Prime Minister Sherif Ismail deliver a speech to the House on the government’s spending plans to develop Sinai, which he says will cost EGP 275 bn over the coming four years. These would be financed by both the state and through loans from international and regional finance institutions. Investment Minister Sahar Nasr had signed a USD 100 mn loan from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) to complete the financing of five water desalination plants in South Sinai, while the Ismail Cabinet signed off on USD 258.5 mn in funding from KFAED for North Sinai last week. The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development had pledged three grants of USD 2.8 in total to support development projects in Sinai.

This comes as Ismail issued a directive to establish a freezone in Nuweiba, Al Masry Al Youm reports. The General Authority for Freezones and Investors (GAFI) will finance the infrastructure development and construction of the 1 mn sqm zone. The freezone is part of the government’s Sinai development strategy, which relies significantly on attracting local and Arab investors to the peninsula to spur growth, Investment Minister Sahar Nasr told reporters last month after the Cabinet approved the project.